Arizona Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Arson Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Dennis Henry Bainbridge, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., was sentenced on Sept. 26, 2013 to a year and a day in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his arson conviction. 

Bainbridge was arrested on April 25, 2013 based on a criminal complaint charging him with arson.  He subsequently was indicted on that same charge. 

Bainbridge pleaded guilty to the indictment on July 10, 2013, and admitted that on March 11, 2013, he maliciously set fire to a vehicle owned by a Navajo woman which was parked near a residence in Shiprock, N.M., which is located within the Navajo Indian Reservation.   According to court filings, witnesses saw Bainbridge douse the victim’s vehicle with gasoline and set it on fire.  When Bainbridge was arrested after he fled from the scene of the arson, officers found a jug of gasoline and a lighter in Bainbridge’s vehicle.

The case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Farmington office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.